“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
- Dr. Seuss
Upon starting this course, I was worried about my lack of experience and how that would translate to the more than likely challenging assignments. I let my lack of confidence affect my writing often before I even started. While I have more experience reading and evaluating texts, I feared that my less-than-perfect comprehension skills would prohibit me from succeeding in this course. One of the first things I learned as I began working in this course is how wrong all the preconceived ideas and fears I had were.
Before starting this course, everything I had written for school was a dreaded research essay about a topic I couldn’t care less about. After a while, I lost any motivation I had to write for myself. I started associating all forms of writing with mundane topics with no room for creativity. I, unfortunately, looked at the first writing assignment of this course the same way. Then, I read the assignment description and instantly regretted the negative feelings I had. The task for the assignment was to talk about myself as a writer. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Talk about myself, and I don’t have to include a thesis or works cited page? Unheard of in my book. It felt strange but very freeing. It felt like I could finally become the writer I had always wanted to be. While I had to meet requirements and discuss the topics given, it didn’t feel forced or restrictive. To put it simply, it felt like an opportunity I had been waiting for but never knew I needed.
While I have more experience with reading than writing, I never felt more confident in my comprehension than my writing skills. I often struggle with being unable to focus. I begin reading and get through about five pages to look up from the book and not remember one thing that I had just read. Conversely, I can read a text and understand everything I just read but have no idea what the purpose, meaning, or context is. I knew that these struggles were becoming big problems, but I never knew how to fix them. I now know that I needed to figure out what the root issue was to fix these problems. I was so focused on the effects of the issues that I never taught myself how to avoid them.
After reading “How to Read Like a Writer” By Mike Bunn, I feel that I have gained the knowledge I have long needed. Mike similizes writers and architects and how they should approach reading something they are learning about in the same manner. When architects read a book about architecture, they break down the text and use that knowledge to assist them with their work. When a writer reads, they should use the same process. Break the text down, prepare questions before reading, and then synthesize if/how you would alter the text. When doctors read a book about a procedure and how it should be carried out, they do not choose what parts of the text they like or disregard it altogether. They use the text as information that they can turn into knowledge. When approaching any text, a writer should look at it as if they are learning about a lifesaving operation. Think of reading as the lifesaving operation that can save your writing.
My thought process has completely changed after reading “How to Read Like a Writer” by Mike Bunn. I had never considered how much reading could affect a writer. I now have learned handy tips for the next time I approach a text and use it to my benefit.
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